Status: Statutory 60-day public review and comment period pursuant to Section 353-16.5, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes; comments are due by February 07, 2013. Send comments to the proposing/determination agencies and consultant.

The Department of Public Safety, State of Hawai‘i (PSD), proposed to reactivate (reopen) developed portions of the 280-acre Kῡlani Correctional Facility (Kūlani CF), closed in 2009, to accommodate approximately 200 minimum security inmates. Many inmates assigned to Kῡlani CF will be transferred from in-state facilities, allowing for the return to Hawai‘i of inmates currently serving sentences in Mainland correctional facilities. The project involves primarily logistical actions to assemble required staff and physically transfer Hawai‘i Inmates. Architectural, engineering and environmental analyses in 2012 of the existing dormitories, workshops, dining facilities, and administrative spaces revealed that the facility is ready for occupation by 200 inmates with only nominal repairs and no major facility upgrades. The budget for making necessary repairs and upgrades is $600,000. PSD proposes to occupy the site as soon as possible but by 2014 at the latest.

The former Kῡlani CF is located on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Island of Hawaiʻi, about 20 miles southwest of Hilo and is accessed through the 19-mile substandard Stainback Highway. The proposed reactivation of Kῡlani CF is consistent with numerous established policies. The proposed reactivation supports Hawaiʻi justice reinvestment initiative strategy to bring out-of-state prisoners back to Hawaiʻi, reduce spending corrections, and reinvest savings generated in strategies that would reverse recent crime trends.